Tartar and plaque are primary cause of periodontal diseases and dental caries. Therefore, it is important to remove tartar and plaque adhered to tooth surfaces, tooth root surfaces, restorative and prosthetic materials, or artificial tooth root materials in order to treat or prevent diseases related to the tooth. In such dental treatment, removal of tartar from tooth surfaces, debridement within pockets, and detoxification of tooth root surfaces to smoothen and polish the root surfaces, that is, scaling and root planing, are fundamental treatment of importance.
Scaling operation and root planing operation are normally performed using a metal scaler for hands, and in particular, a hand curette scaler. Scaling and root planing using such a hand curette scaler are however an operation that requires experience and skill and takes time and effort.
In addition to the method using a hand curette scaler, scaling and root planing can be performed using therapeutic instruments, such as Rotosonic for engines, an air scaler for turbines, or an ultrasonic scaler. Among the therapeutic instruments, the ultrasonic scaler is configured by connecting an ultrasonic oscillation source for oscillating ultrasonic waves of a predetermined oscillation frequency with a dental tip of a predetermined shape.
The dental tip is made as an integrated instrument from a base end portion to a tip portion thereof. The base end portion of the dental tip is connected to the ultrasonic oscillation source. When the ultrasonic oscillation source is oscillated in the ultrasonic wave band, the ultrasonic oscillation is transferred from the base end portion of the tip to the tip portion of the tip. Thereafter, pressing the tip portion against a treatment area on the tooth surface will grind and remove tartar or the like.
Conventionally, Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 8-229054 (Reference 1), Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 10-28694 (Reference 2) and Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 5-154164 (Reference 3) disclose tips of various shapes.
As illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, the following method is publicly known: a pin-shaped artificial tooth root 12, referred to as an implant, is implanted into a bone 20 at an upper jaw or a lower jaw; An abutment 16 is screwed to be attached to a threaded hole formed in an end portion of the artificial tooth root 12 protruded from the bone 20; and subsequently, an artificial crown 18 is put on the abutment 16 from above.
When tartar or the like adhered around the artificial tooth root is tried to be removed using the conventional tip, the removal is not efficiently performed because the conventional tip described above is mainly for removing tartar and plaque that are adhered around a natural tooth.